In The Distance
by Weapon Of Vanity
Summary: [One shot][YuffiexVincent] Set a few months after the meteor incident. As Avalanche split their ways, Vincent has been travelling through the continents alone. But soon it's Christmas...


**In The Distance**

By Weapon Of Vanity (aka DarkKnight)

Author's notes:

Hello there. A little while ago, in my total-boredom state of mind, I suddenly had this feeling of wanting to do something somewhat creative, other than just staring at the monitor lifelessly. So I came up with the idea to write a fanfic, as I had read many Final Fantasy-ones during the year. Almost all of them were Yuffentines, mind you.

I did have my doubts of getting this thing out, as this is the FIRST TIME I'VE EVER WROTE ANYTHING. But even to my own surprise, I finished it. Oh, and as a weak excuse, english isn't my first language so bear with me, okay? Gladly, I can thank **Charles Xavier** for beta-reading my story. Thanks! Not forgetting about**Lone Gunman**, who also had his hands on this one.

Without further ado, let's get it on.

**-------------------------**

It was a chilly December evening. The northern lights made a beautiful scenery upon a small village, which was covered in white color of the snow that had fallen from the skies the last day. Today, the weather was calm and not one soul wondered on the small streets, everyone was inside enjoying the company of their families, and some just relaxing at the saloon.

It was a really peaceful evening at Icicle Inn.

And that is what Vincent Valentine preferred. He was standing beside the window of the local inn, gazing at the stars in the black night sky. He was tired after the long distance he had travelled within the last few days. There was no clear destination where Vincent was heading, but he felt he had to do something, other than locking himself up in the familiar, run-down Shinra Mansion. Nowadays the basement was full of those blood-sucking bats anyway.

'I should sit down for a minute.' He thought on his chair, closing his crimson-red eyes.

It had been a few months after Avalanche defeated Sephiroth and saved the planet. Even the great Shinra company was no more, and their adventure was over.

The meteor had teared parts of Midgar to shambles, mainly the upper plate and the most outstanding areas of the slums. Thankfully, the casualties remained low, as most were able to take hide in the underground emergency shelters. Many had lost their homes, but everyone was glad to be alive after what they had witnessed.

Midgar was being rebuilt by the new Shinra Co., led by the man in control of the former spy, Cait Sith. He was really determined to get Midgar back on its feet. Avalanche knew that they could trust him to keep things in order. Even the Turks were under his command from now on. Thus, everyone agreed to sort their own things out, before helping Reeve in Midgar.

Cloud and Tifa returned to Nibelheim, to fix their relationship. Barret had plans to revive Corel, and get the coal mines in use again. Cid went back to Rocket Town, to tune up the Highwind with Shera. Nanaki was back in Cosmo Canyon, and Yuffie had returned to Wutai, as per her father's request.

But Vincent, he had nowhere to go. He didn't want to disturb Cloud and Tifa by staying with them in Nibelheim, nor anyone else. Not even if they wanted him to stay.

Even Yuffie Kisaragi, the young female ninja, asked him to accompany her to Wutai. But he would decline yet again, even though he had grown fond of her, when he found out her true intentions of reviving Wutai to its former glory. He found her the most entertaining person amongst the Avalanche group. They even had deep conversations on the Highwind once in a while (only when Yuffie wasn't puking on the floors, though). She had even started to call him Vinnie, a nickname Vincent did not fancy too much. But she occasionally did bring a small grin on his face with it. She was the first person that made him smile in 24 years.

Not ever he had smiled after Lucrecia's death...

Ever since they departed, he had been traveling around the continents with his black chocobo, which he bred himself; Exeter.

Throughout the whole time after the crisis ended, Vincent wondered if he had committed yet another sin; being a part of the death of Sephiroth, the son of the woman he loved the most, Lucrecia. Thus, he would again shut everyone's attempts of getting him to open up a little.

Regardless, he really thought of Cloud, Yuffie and the others as his friends. He never would not think ill of them, but instead he thought he had no right to have such good friends.

Friends... He had never really had anyone he would call "a friend". Being a turk took all his free time from the age of 18 to 27, and the next 24 years he would spend sleeping in a coffin, because of the immoral Shinra scientist Hojo, the father of Sephiroth.

He could have left the basement, but Vincent couldn't help to feel like he had to atone his sins, which were letting Hojo inject Lucrecia's baby with Jenova Cells. It lead her to die in child-birth, and her son, Sephiroth, would become the most feared man on the face of the Planet.

All this... He could have prevented. But he couldn't. This, he thought, was his sin.

-----------------------

_'Vincent...' _

It was those voices in his head again.

_'Vinnie, you depressed again? _

It was the horrible monsters that lurked inside Vincent's head. The most powerful of them, Chaos, was usually the one trying to annoy him to a level, which in Vincent could not control the monster any longer.

After having these sadistic – or rather sarcastic- demons company him for some time now, he could contain his anger more effectively.

While his friends thought he was just ignorant, he was actually fighting against the effect of the demons in his head all the time.

"Shut up, Chaos." Vincent mumbled under his breath, while lifting himself up off the chair.

_'But Vinnie-poo!'_ The sarcastic demon was at his favorite hobby again. But Vincent would just ignore it, like he had done many times before.

"..." Chaos knew that he had to think of something else to get the gunslinger agitated, thus he would quiet down...for now.

'I'd better feed Exeter, before going to bed.' He remembered his chocobo that he had left at the stables.

Vincent took his favorite gun from the night table, the Outsider, a compact yet extremely deadly and accurate handgun. After reloading and holstering the weapon, he picked his PHS from his pocket. He had it turned off, because he didn't want the others to know about his whereabouts. But still, he was curious to know if anyone would've bothered to contact him.

"..."

After a moment of hesitation, he returned the phone back in his pocket.

Vincent left the room. Wondering down the corridor of the inn, he would attract looks from the townspeople, who didn't know this long-haired gunslinger. Vincent informed the receptionist at the counter that he'd be right back and headed towards the stables at the back of the building. The door creaked as he opened the door, and entered the chocobo stables. He had bought some greens for his chocobo, Exeter, who had carried Vincent to Icicle Inn. While feeding the huge bird, he suddenly had the urge to check on his mails again.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt, don't you think?" He asked the bird, and took the PHS in his hands.

He looked at the blank screen for a while, but finally gave in and pressed the power button...

He felt slightly nervous while waiting for the phone to start up. Had someone called? Did anyone actually care? Or should he just throw the useless appliance in the trash? These thoughts went through his mind.

"_23 unanswered calls", _read in the screen of the phone. Vincent was stunned with amazement.

"Kwehh!"

Exeter was clearly waiting for him to give him more greens. Vincent was lost in his thoughts for a while, but took some greens in his human hand and fed them to Exeter. He again set his eyes on the screen of the phone, and finally checked who had tried to contact him.

"Yuffie Kisaragi 9

Cloud Strife 7

Tifa Lockheart 4

Cid Highwind 2

Barret Wallace 1"

Vincent started to get suspicious. Did something happen? They would know that if he didn't answer, he clearly wouldn't want to. But why try so many times?

'I should probably call them and ask about their current situation...' He thought.

_'Vinnie' _It was Chaos acting up again. _'You're not really worried now are ya?'_

'Quiet down, heathen.' Vincent replied.

_'Ooh, Vinnie's getting upset...hehehe.' _Chaos was clearly enjoying ticking him off. But to no avail, Vincent ignored him again and quickly pressed the green icon on his cellphone. He wanted to know what Tifa and Cloud had to say.

"Beeb...beeb." The phone uttered, before the familiar voice answered.

"Hello, Tifa speaking." Vincent was glad to hear her voice after a long time.

"It's Vincent. You have tried to call me. Is something wrong" He asked casually.

"Vincent! What happened to you? We tried to contact you." The chocolate haired woman was surprised that Vincent actually called her.

"Where are you now? Everyone has been worried sick since you disappeared without a trace!"

Vincent felt a little glad that he wasn't forgotten. "I am at Icicle Inn at the moment. But more importantly, is there a specific reason for the amount of calls I've had?" He asked curiously.

"What? Oh...that." Tifa lost her excitement suddenly. And Vincent noticed this. He knew right away that something was wrong. He had come to know her personality rather well on their journey.

"Tifa? Has something happened?"

There was a moment of silence. "Tifa?"

Then Tifa finally answered. "Vincent... It's Yuffie."

'Yuffie...'

Vincent's heart had just skipped a beat. All kinds of thoughts revolved in his head for a second. What has happened to his maybe closest friend?

"Tell me. What's wrong with her?" He asked, losing his coolness to his surprise.

'I never thought I would care this much.' Vincent thought to himself, while waiting for Tifa's reply. Before she spoke up, he could hear someone else over the other end of the phone. Like, giggling or something. He couldn't make it out.

"Vince, Yuffs is ill." She finally said. "We're over at Elmyra's house in Kalm right now. She said she'd like to see you here too." More obscure sounds could be heard on Tifa's end. Vincent was too worried to notice.

"How serious is it?" His heart was pounding faster than usual. He didn't know what to say, his thoughts were too focused on the young ninja.

"We don't know yet. Neither does the doctor. But if you'd come here, I'm sure Yuffie would be happy." Tifa's voice was getting really strange by the minute. This bothered Vincent slightly, but he would not comment on it.

"I will be on my way immediately." He said quickly.

"Ok. But you are at Icicle Inn, aren't you" Tifa asked him.

"Yes, I am. Why?" Vincent replied, while saddling up Exeter with his mechanical arm.

"Well, it is a long trip to travel with a chocobo, so I could ask Cid to give you a ride." Tifa stated. Vincent hadn't even thought that Kalm was on the other side of the Planet.

"..." Vincent realized this and calmed himself down. "If it's possible, then I can't see why not." He tried to speak as calmly as he could.

"It's a deal then. I'll tell him to get there in the morning. Oh... Sorry Vince, I have to go now. See you over at Kalm." Tifa said in a hurry, leaving Vincent in a state of confusion. After a moment of hesitation, he said goodbye to Tifa and ended the call.

His heart was still pounding in an unusually fast pace. He leaned against the wall, and returned the cell phone back in his pocket.

'Yuffie...' His mind was completely occupied by the ninja, who had become a really good friend. They didn't become so close in an instant, of course. The first time they met was in the basement of the ShinRa Mansion, when Cloud unlocked the door and convinced him to join their party. Though Yuffie's reaction at the first glance was rather...frightening. Even Vincent jumped when she screamed "A ZOMBIE!" on top of her lungs.

Yuffie seemed to get interested in the mysterious gunslinger soon after that, and all you could see her doing was irritating Vincent to no end by trying to pick-pocket his Materia. This she did to make him actually say something once in a while. Even though it was apparent that she was bored by the long walks they had between towns and such. Of course, once they came in possession of Tiny Bronco and the Highwind, she would be too busy puking, which Cid didn't obviously didn't like too much, judging by the amount of swear words in his sentences.

But even though Vincent was annoyed, at the same time he had a small smile on his face each time Yuffie would tease him. Thus, he started to open up a little, occasionally even throwing a few one-liners, which lead the crew hitting their chins on the floor.

He didn't show it, but he was really enjoying the company of the others and especially the chocolate-haired ninja. As the time passed, Yuffie would lay down the teasing, and tried to have an actual conversation between the lone gunman. One time, she lured Vincent to the outer deck of the Highwind, and -out of the blue- began talking about her childhood, her mother's death, her trying to steal the Materia to get Wutai back on it's feets... Suddenly she had started sobbing slightly. Vincent looked at her beautiful face, feeling something he hadn't felt in years. He had to do something, and to his own surprise, he held her in his arms saying comforting words in her ear. That had made Yuffie cry even more, and Vincent felt his shirt getting wet due to the tears.

That night, he found a different side of Yuffie. And from that point on, Vincent opened up to Yuffie, telling about his past, his job in the Turks, Lucrecia and how he ended up locking himself in a coffin for all those years.

They were really getting along... Until they defeated Sephiroth. The wall of despair that was almost crushed, rose again. The painful memories of his past were brought back. Then Vincent began to hide in his shell again, shutting others outside. He said he wanted time for himself, and since then he had been traveling alone, ending up here in Icicle Inn.

-----------------------

Vincent started to feel cold. His back was aching. Something was pulling his hair.

"Wark!"

'...?' Vincent was confused for a moment, his vision was still blurry. He looked up and found Exeter staring right at him. He jumped a little. 'Did I...fall asleep?' He thought to himself. He finally found himself laying down on the stable floor, beside Exeter.

"You could have woken me up slightly earl...Ah...Achoo!" It was official, he had caught a cold, sleeping on the freezing ground. And he was supposed to be some of help to Yuffie.

'Bad timing, Vincent, bad timing.' He scolded himself, while slowly lifting up from the cold floor.

He fed the rest of the greens to Exeter, and walked out through the door. 'Hmmh...So it's morning already.' He thought, as the sun shone in his face, blinding him for a moment.

Suddenly he heard a sound of an airship in the distance. A very familiar airship indeed. In a few seconds, the tuned up Highwind hovered over the Icicle village.

"Hey Vince! Get yer arse on board! I don't have all day now!" There was no doubt to whom that voice belonged to.

"Hello to yourself, Cid..." Vincent mumbled under his breath, smirking slightly at the sight of Cid waving from the cockpit at him.

The Highwind landed just outside of the village's gates, and the hatch opened from the side of the cockpit. Soon Cid would walk out outside, while inhaling the smoke of his cigarette.

"Hey there Vamp-boy! How's yer 'vacation'" He blew the smoke out of his lungs through his nose.

"I'm just fine…" Sleeping on the floor of a chocobo-stable clearly wasn't the greatest of ideas.

"Just fine, eh?" Cid said, slapping Vincent on the shoulder. "Well that's great to hear. Now, pack yer goddamn bags and let's get the hell outta here!"

Vincent nodded. "I have a chocobo in the stables. Is there room onboard?"

"Well of course! It's the Highwind." Cid said proudly. "But you'd better not let the birdbrain stain the floors!"

"Then, could you take care of the chocobo, while I check out of the inn?" Vincent said, leaving Cid and heading towards the building.

Cid gave Vincent a stare. "Youngsters these day...No manners."

Vincent walked up the stairs and entered his room. He picked up his Materia and items, and left for downstairs. He gave the key to the receptionist, and left to see if Cid was ready to go.

'...Just as I thought.' Vincent looked at Cid from the door.

"Move yer fat arse!" Cid was pushing Exeter forcefully inside the airship. No, actually the whole crew was with him.

'Heh...' Vincent smiled in his mind. "My apologies. I see I didn't tell you that he's afraid of your airship." He walked beside Exeter, took him by the collar and led him in the ship.

The next few sentences by Cid were not worth mentioning.

As Vincent had calmed Exeter down and the crew was in place, it was time to depart and head towards Kalm.

"Alright numbskulls, let's get this baby running!" The engines roamed to life, and soon they were airborne and heading south.

"So Valentine, what do ya think of the new cockpit?" Cid asked him proudly, while spit-shining the new control panel in front of him.

Vincent had something else in his mind, but he thought it'd be better to keep Cid in a good mood.

"It seems very nice." He said without looking around.

Cid noticed this. "Hey, doncha worry 'bout that brat. She's gonna be fine." There was an evil smirk on his face.

'What's with him now? Even Tifa was acting rather weird on the phone earlier.' Vincent thought to himself. "Cid, do you know about Yuffie's current condition?" He realized how little he knew what was going on.

After a moment, Cid scratched his head and faced the control panel. "I dunno. But just hold yer horses 'till we get there, 'kay?"

"Very well, then." Vincent replied and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. 'Something's not right' He thought, looking at Cid who clearly was hiding something.

"-Cough, cough-" Vincent realized he was feeling weaker, and his forehead was sweaty. 'Nice Vincent, you got yourself a fewer.' He thought.

"You sure you're alright, man?" Cid asked the gunslinger. "'Cause that sure doesn't sound right. Did ya sleep outside or something."

Vincent glared at Cid, keeping the words to himself.

The two hour long flight went smoothly, if you don't count the occasional freak outs of Exeter, who kept Vincent alert the whole way. Cid didn't have to save his rather blunt vocabulary either.

However, Highwind had reached Kalm and Cid was ready to land outside the city gates.

"Here we are! Get that landing gear down, ya buncha lazy asses!" It seemed Cid would never get tired of this, though Vincent had always enjoyed watching the pilot at his 'work'.

The Highwind landed softly on the grassy ground outside of Kalm, and they were ready to disembark. Vincent led Exeter out of the airship and waited for Cid to follow him.

"Shall we go?" He asked the pilot.

"Yeah yeah, let's go see that brat."

Vincent didn't like the word 'brat'. As he thought of Yuffie the same way when they first met, he had become to realize that 'brat' is not the correct word to describe her. Now, he just thought it was offending. Vincent was about to say something, but Cid cut him off.

"It's that building on the left, up those stairs. You can leave that bird here." Vincent left Exeter at the bottom of the stairs as told, and headed towards the door. Cid headed up the stairs behind him. "Yep, that's the one. It's open."

Vincent knocked and opened the door.

"Hey Vince, finally you're here." The familiar voice belonged to the chocobo-haired warrior, who was sitting on the couch with the brunette martial artist.

"Hello Cloud, Tifa." Vincent nodded at them. "My apologies for not returning your calls."

Vincent stepped inside the house with Cid, who closed the door behind him.

"Don't worry about it, Vincent. What matters is that you're here now." Tifa replied to him, smiling warmly.

"Vince, you hook up with these numbskulls. I'm gonna go get some tea." The pilot growled, and headed towards the kitchen.

Nanaki also lifted himself up from underneath the living-room table.

"Long time no see, Vincent. We were all worried about you."

Vincent nodded at Nanaki as well.

"I presume everyone is here then?" Vincent asked in his monotone voice.

Tifa took a look a look behind her. "Barret and Reeve are probably playing poker in the kitchen."

While saying that, indefinite cursing could be heard from the direction of the kitchen. Cloud also heard this. He couldn't help but to smile. "Yep, they sure are. And you can probably figure out who is on the losing side."

"Shut yer mouth, 'foo!" The gun-armed man entered the living-room and layed himself down on the sofa. "Why look who's 'ere! It's the emo-kid." He said jokingly.

Vincent snorted at him. "Hello to yourself Barret, Reeve." Vincent turned his gaze in the corner, where in Reeve was leaning on the wall.

"Glad you could make it." Reeve nodded at Vincent. Cid even had taken Shera with him earlier.

"Vincent." Shera nodded.

"Oi Shera!" Cid yelled at Shera as he came back into the living room with a cup of tea in his hand.. "Show the man some hospitality, dammit!"

Shera sighed. "I just wonder how _you_ welcomed him..." Cid thought for a while, but didn't come up with a smart remark. Shera gave him a mischievous smile.

'Everyone's here then. But...' Vincent thought to himself remembering the very cause of why he agreed to come in the first place. "Tifa. Where is Yuffie?"

Tifa was just about to open her mouth when soft footsteps coming from the kitchen could be heard. "Uncle Vinnie!" It was Marlene, who obviously had been waiting for him to arrive. "Welcome uncle Vinnie! Yoo're here for the Christmas party, aren'cha?"

"Christmas party?" Vincent was confused, how could they party when Yuffie was ill?

Tifa lifted herself up from the sofa, and quickly got in between Vincent and Marlene. "Uhh... Marlene, go play with Nanaki for a while. Uncle-Vinnie has something to do first, okay?" Marlene clearly wanted to stay with Vincent, but knowing Tifa, there was no way around her.

Vincent didn't know what was going on. "Tifa? A Christmas party?"

Tifa took a step closer and whispered something in his ear. "Yuffie is on the second-floor. Why don't you go talk to her, okay?"

He asked quickly. "Is she alright?" Vincent forgot about what Marlene had just said at the mentioning of her name.

"She's been waiting for you. Just go." Tifa grinned and began pushing Vincent towards the stairway.

"Hey." Vincent objected.

"Off you go now." She winked at Vincent. 'What is wrong with them?' He thought, as he decided to head up the stairs. 'They WERE sane a few months ago...'

At the top of the stairs, he saw Elmyra, the woman who had raised Aeris as her own. Now he was occasionally taking care of Marlene, when Barret was busy with the rebuilding of Corel.

"Ah, you must be Vincent, right." Said the warm-hearted woman, while smiling at at the gunman.

"That is correct." Vincent politely bowed slightly.

"You're probably looking for that girl, Yuffie. She in the second room on the right."

Vincent nodded, and stepped up in front of the door. He was nervous, since he hadn't seen her after his disappearing act.

He knocked the door. "Yuffie, it's Vincent. Can I enter?"

After a moment of silence, he could hear her voice through the door. "Hey Vince... Do come in. -Cough-..." Vincent opened the door with haste. He could see Yuffie in bed, completely under the blanket. "You'd better not go around blaming me if you get sick too." She said grumpily.

"Are you alright?" He took a step closer the bed, staring at the figure under the blanket.

"Well...Come closer and I'll tell ya." She mumbled. Vincent moved beside the bed and lowered himself down.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked with a deep voice, which had slightly worried-like sound.

"Now that you asked..." Her voice suddenly became clearer. "Notta thing!" She pulled the blanket down and poked her head up, staring Vincent straight in the eyes.

"Um... Excuse me?" Vincent was dumbfounded.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be happy for me, that I'm OK AND ALL?" Yuffie dramatically spread her arms open wide.

"No that's not it, but I thought you were..." Vincent was cut off by Yuffie. "Not really, no. But you look SO cute when you're worried." She smirked at Vincent and stuck out her tongue.

"Then what is the meaning of this?" Vincent sternly asked as he stood up.

"Hey, don't get upset Vinnie. It was the only way to get your sorry butt over here for Christmas!"

'So that's it...' Vincent thought, as he began rubbing his temples.

Yuffie quickly lifted herself from the bed in front of Vincent. "We knew that there was no way in HELL you would attend a party! That's why we had to come up with something."

Vincent already took a few steps to leave the room, but Yuffie stopped him. "What? So you're just gonna leave now, eh!"

Vincent looked away. He wanted to be angry at her, but when she poked him and gave him the cheerful smile he had always adored, he just couldn't. "Vinnie... I'm sorry we lied to you, but I...we, wanted to see you once in a while. Besides, there's no way you could have missed my Wutaian special dish!"

Vincent was furious a moment ago, not showing it though, but now he was just trying not to smile.

"I'm looking forward to it." He then walked past her to the door. Yuffie was smiling to no end, due to the reaction. She was glad that her plan had worked. Christmas Eve was tomorrow and he was actually going to stay.

Happiness was shining brightly from Yuffie's face.

"Hey, wait up!" Yuffie then ran to catch up with Vincent. She couldn't stop smiling as they headed downstairs to meet up with the others.

The whole crew was watching TV in the living room, and suspiciously whispering about something. It all stopped when the two were heard descending the stairs.

Vincent noticed this. 'I wonder what is so interesting...'

"Hey, there's the young couple finally." Cloud yelled jokingly from the couch, who had his arm around Tifa's waist.

"So Vince, you're going to spend the holidays here with us?" Tifa asked the blushing gunman, who lowered his head so that no one would notice.

"Which is it gonna be then, foo'?" Barret growled from the depths of the sofa, Marlene sitting in his lap.

Vincent thought for a moment. "Hmh... I believe I can spare a few days." Yuffie, who was just behind him, was awfully quiet. Probably because she was busy looking at Vincent, who just had said the words Yuffie anticipated. Her cheeks were already hurting due to the constant smile on her face.

"You guys didn't do anything funny up there, didcha?" Cid had a wide grin on his face, as he teased Yuffie. This made her to snap out of it.

"Oh GAWD. Cid, you'd better shut up now, if you don't want my shuriken up your ASS."

Cid cracked up at this point, as well as everyone else in the room.

Vincent was getting embarrassed by the minute.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get something to drink." Vincent said and headed towards the kitchen. He was starting to feel very hot. 'I guess it's not a good idea to sleep on the floor of a chocobo-stable...' He thought, as sweat drops rolled down his forehead. 'I need to get the fewer down.'

"Hey, Vinnie! I'll help ya to...to...find the glasses. Yeah!..." Yuffie said this without thinking, and blushed when Cid started whistling at them.

"Yeah yeah, whatever ya say brat."

Yuffie gave him her usual 'quit-it-or-I'll-shove-your-head-up-your-ass' look, stuck out her tongue and followed Vincent.

"Hey Yuffs!" Tifa called from the sofa. "What's up, Teef?" Yuffie turned around, and Tifa winked at her, and made a soundless comment only Yuffie saw. "(Good job, girl.)" Yuffie's face was already beef-red, as she rolled her eyes and ran to the kitchen.

The man beside Tifa seemed confused and looked at her. "Teef, what was that all about?"

Tifa smiled and layed her head on Cloud's shoulder. "Oh, it's nothing." She took a look towards the kitchen and giggled. Cloud looked at her and lifted his eyebrow.

In the kitchen, Vincent took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the faucet. He sat down on the chair at the dining table and drank the water with one gulp. He leaned against the table with his elbows, swiping the sweat off his forehead.

Yuffie entered the kitchen, stopping at the sight of Vincent.

"You okay Vinnie?" She sat on the opposite end of the table and looked at Vincent's pale face.

"I'm just fine." He tried to pull himself together, not wanting her to worry about him. Yuffie was just about to protest, when Vincent suddenly tried to change the subject. "Tifa and Cloud...Has something happened?" He asked with a low-pitch voice, rising his eyes to meet with Yuffie's.

"Uh...Yeah." She began smiling and whispered: "They got together a month or so ago."

"I see. I'm glad for them." Vincent sincerely thought so.

"Yep, but it's all thanks to Teef really. She LITERALLY had to throw herself at him, otherwise that spiky-haired ass couldn't have gotten it..." She had a stupid expression on her face before she began giggling slightly. Vincent had a small smile under the collar of his cape.

Something hit Vincent. He began to look around for a calendar. 'It was the end of the year...' He found one on the refrigerator's door. It was 23th of December.

'Damn...' He cussed in his mind. 'Her birthday was on 20th... of November. How could I have missed it?'

Yuffie noticed this uneasy behavior of his. "Vinnie, what's up?"

He turned his gaze towards Yuffie. "I know it's late, but...Happy 17th birthday Yuffie." He nodded at her.

Yuffie had her head down and was quiet for a moment. Vincent thought he had hurt her feelings. "I apologize, I was a month late of schedule."

"You remembered..." Yuffie said quietly. She got up from the chair, walked beside Vincent and to his surprise, hugged him. Vincent was shocked. His heart started pounding fast, as the sweet scent of her hair filled the air. "Thanks Vinnie, I'm so glad you remembered." Vincent felt extreme relaxation.

'This feeling...It's been a long time.' Vincent felt empty as Yuffie released her grip on his neck. His gaze was locked on her eyes as she stood up. After a while, they both began blushing and looked away from each other.

"I should probably go unpack my things now." Vincent said as he stood up. "I might even find a present for you."

"Yeah... Hey! I'll show you your room!" Yuffie's expression brightened, as she began walking towards the living room and the stairs. As Vincent followed her, the fewer he had, showed its face again. He felt weak, ready to collapse any second.

As they reached the living room, they were greeted with gazes. "Hey Yuffs! Why don't you guys sit down with us for a while?" Cloud asked while sorting his Materia on the table.

Yuffie replied without stopping. "Sorry Spike, I'm gonna show Vince his room upstairs." She pointed up with her finger.

"I'm sure he would find it without a guide, Yuffie." Nanaki commented while lying down on the floor.

She glared at him. "Oh shut up, ya furball. Come on Vince."

As they made their way up the stairs, the snickering began in the living room.

"I had all my Materia on the table... yet she just walks by. Hmm."

"There's definitely something going on."

"Hah, yeah. It couln't be more obvious. That brat."

"Yo, you began spyin' on 'em just 'cause Spikes told ya about it, foo'."

Yuffie heard this and stopped on her tracks. "Vince, you go on ahead. It's the door on the right." She said this in a unusually cold voice.

"Yuffie?" Vincent stopped and looked at her face. She had her trademark 'Urge-to-kill-rising' expression. "Go on Vince. I'm gonna go kill somebody now..." She slowly turned around, and headed downstairs.

"I see..." Vincent said cluelessly as he watched Yuffie heading downstairs.

"Tifa... Can I talk to ya for a sec?" Yuffie said with a monotonous voice and pointed the kitchen.

"Uh, sure Yuffs" Tifa got up from the sofa and followed Yuffie.

When Tifa reached the kitchen, she received a cold gaze from Yuffie. "Tifa, you haven't told anyone about IT, now have ya?" Tifa wondered for a moment.

"Oh, you mean THAT?"

Yuffie looked around and fixed her eyes on Tifa again. "Yes, THAT."

Tifa scratched her head. "Ahaha, well...I might have told Cloud about it..." She gave Yuffie a silly smile. "But I'm _sure_ he can keep a secret, don't you think?"

"TIFA!" Yuffie grabbed Tifa's shoulders as she shouted. "You DO know that I have to KILL you now, right!"

"_Oi!_ _You two okay in there?"_ Someone shouted from the living room.

Yuffie shouted back at them. "If I can get my hands on that kitchen knife, then NO!"

"Yuffs, what's wrong with having a crush?" Tifa desperately tried to calm Yuffie down.

"Oh GAWD! I could just DIE right now!"

Vincent lied on his bed, exhausted due to the fewer he had caught. Coughing, he looked outside of the window beside the bed. It was already dark.

He put his head on the pillow again, and took of the blood-red headband he had. It was covered in sweat.

He wiped the sweat on his forehead and rubbed his temples. 'How did I manage to fall asleep in a chocobo stable?'

_'Hehheh...' _Perhaps a too familiar laugh could be heard in Vincent's head, yet again. _'Admit it Vinnie, you were daydreamin' of that girl now weren't you, hmm?' _Chaos, as persistent it was, would attempt to gain control. Vincent's current weak state was a favourable opportunity for it.

"Begone, heathen..." Vincent mumbled under his breath.

'_But Vin, ain't she a bit young for ya? Remember, you did sleep in a coffin for quite some time... He he he.' _

Vincent wasn't in condition to mentally keep the demon away. 'Shut up.' He could not focus because of the high fewer.

_'But however, I'm sure you don't want to repeat the same mistake YOU made earlier... Remember Lucrecia? She surely hates your rotten guts, Vincent!' _The demon laughed at Vincent. His heart was struck by the pain, that he had almost gotten over already.

'Chaos! Do not speak of her!' Vincent blew up in his mind, giving the demon the opportunity it had been waiting.

_'Haha!_ _Vinnie-poo, you don't like me anymore?'_

Vincent felt excruciating pain in his body, Chaos was taking control of him. 'Not here...Not now.' Vincent was in pain, as he was about to transform into the demon itself.

_'It's been a long time now, so you probably don't mind if go...you know, ballistic? Haha.' _

Suddenly, someone knocked the door. "Vince, you still up?"

'Yuffie...' Thinking of her, Vincent's body remained calm, and Chaos was pushed away in the dark depths of Vincent's mind.

"Vinnie, I'm comin' in!" As no answer was heard, she opened the door and stepped in. Vincent lied in bed holding his chest, gritting his teeth due to the pain. "Vincent!" Yuffie yelled in worry, as she ran beside the bed. "Vince, what's wrong!" She leaned on him as she looked him in the eyes in a close distance.

"Ah...I'm fine now, Yuffie." Vincent lifted his hand on his forehead. He felt like his head was about to explode a second ago.

"Fine? You're covered in sweat!" Yuffie lifted Vincent's human hand off his forehead and took his temperature with her hand. "Oh god, you're burnin' up Vince!" She covered her mouth with her left hand as her eyes looked at the gunslinger in shock.

Vincent didn't want her to worry too much, as he already felt slightly better. "Seems like I caught a little cold."

Yuffie seemed to get mad at him. "Little cold! No Vince, you're gonna have to explain! A _little cold_ won't make you scream in pain." Yuffie suddenly began to take off his cape. "Yuffie, what are you doing?" He panicked a little and rose to a sitting position. "That _little cold_ of yours isn't going away if you don't get these clothes off." She said as she took off Vincent's cape completely.

Vincent now had no collar where to hide his emotions, and as Vincent really wasn't used to getting undressed by a woman, he had a slight blush on his face. He quickly turned his head away from Yuffie, who was inspecting his face carefully. "Now, let's get your shirt off, Vinnie. " After she had realized what she had just said, it was her time to get embarrassed.

"Yuffie, I believe I can do it myself." Vincent set his eyes on the blushing ninja.

"Y-yeah. Haha...I'll go and get you some water now." Yuffie had a silly smile on her face as she headed towards the door. She stopped at the door. "Oh, and when I come back, you have some explainin' to do." She said seriously, and closed the door.

Vincent sighed and held his head. The headache was slowly easing up, but the fewer was only getting worse. He took his sweaty clothes off and stacked them on the floor beside the bed. Feeling weak, he buried himself under the blanket, and wondered. 'I guess she's right. I should take better care of myself.'

There was a knock on the door. "Vinnie, you ready?"

"Yes, do come in." Vincent replied with a weak voice, coughing at the end of the sentence.

The door creaked open, and Yuffie stepped inside. "Here, help yourself." She offered Vincent a glass of water.

"Thank you." He sat up slowly and drank the water in one go.

He looked up at Yuffie, who stared at him with her big eyes. "Yuffie? Are you alright?"

"Huh?" She realized she had been staring at Vincent, who had no shirt on. "Oh, it's nothing, forget about it!" She panicked a little and sat on a chair, looking around a little, then setting her eyes on Vincent again. "Vincent, tell me what just happened with ya?" She asked sternly, leaning on her knees with her elbows. Vincent looked at her for a moment, and knew there was no way around her.

"Well, I can now say that the floor of the Icicle Inn's chocobo stable isn't the best place to spend a night." Vincent coughed again. "As you can probably see."

Yuffie's jaw dropped. "CHOCOBO STABLE? Are you frickin' crazy! Why would ya do such a thing?"

"Traveling through the northern continent does that, I see." Vincent knew it wasn't the whole truth. Most likely, he had fallen asleep while thinking of Yuffie. He remembered how worried he was at the time.

She frowned and crossed her arms, looking at Vincent as if he hadn't told her everything.

Vincent glanced at Yuffie's expression. 'Hmh...I guess I will have to tell her then.' He never had told anyone about this secret of his. No, the nightmare, that Hojo had given him a long time ago. "Yuffie, you do know my ability to transform into those...monsters, sometimes in battle?" He wanted to make sure Yuffie fully understood what was going on.

"Yeah, I always thought it was NASTY." She realized she said something she shouldn't have. "...Sorry. It's just that, I always feared that you wouldn't change back anymore. Every time..." Yuffie hung her head.

Vincent looked at her, and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. It's fine when I'm strong mentally, but as I'm weak as I am now..." Vincent paused. Yuffie lifted her head and looked worried. "What, Vinnie?"

Sighing slightly, Vincent continued. "The demons have a consciousness as well, in the deep depths of my brain. Whenever I feel weak, they will try to gain control of my body." He remained calm as he spoke. Yuffie was listening closely. She looked terrified, but didn't say a thing.

"Just now, they were close, but you interrupted them, Yuffie." Vincent nodded at her. "Now that I'm this weak, I couldn't have been able to control the demon." He took his human hand off of her shoulder, and placed it on his artificial arm. "These demons inside my head, and this arm..." He lifted the metallic arm in front of him. "...They are my punishment, for letting someone dear to me suffer." There was a silence. Vincent just stared at the opposite wall emotionlessly. His time of despair was still haunting him.

After a brief silence, Vincent glanced at Yuffie, who hung her head as she sobbed. "Vinnie...I'm so sorry. I didn't know anything. I didn't realize you were suffering!" She lifted her tear-filled eyes to meet with Vincent's.

Then suddenly, Vincent saw hope in behind his wall of despair deep within his thoughts. In the distance, he saw...Yuffie Kisaragi.

Vincent slowly shifted his gaze towards the chocolate-haired ninja. "Yuffie..."

"Yuffie, don't worry." He said with a calming voice, as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Yuffie could not stop the tears. "Vinnie, you have never done anything wrong. This is too cruel."

Yuffie kept on shedding her tears. They streamed down her cheeks like a river. Vincent was mesmerized how beautiful she was. She was like an angel. They looked at each other, eye to eye, in close distance. Something was crumbling in his mind. His wall of despair, which sealed his old emotions, was about to fall.

_'VINCENT! SHE'S GONNA DIE LIKE LUCRECIA! YOU WILL BRING NOTHING BUT PAIN TO HER!' _

Vincent only had one opponent left to defeat. His inner demons... 'Chaos...'

He could now the reason why these demons wouldn't disappear. His heart was like an empty shell, which he hadn't let anyone touch. Thus, the demons had no competitors inside his mind and were free to roam.

_'SHE'S GOING TO DIE, VINCENT! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A MONSTER!' _

Vincent locked his eyes on the sobbing Yuffie.

"Yuffie. I finally realized... No, I've known this for some time now, but there has been something I have wanted to say to you...Now, I finally understand." He looked deep into her eyes, as he dug up his real emotions from the depths of his mind.

Yuffie held her breath, as she waited for Vincent to speak his mind.

"Yuffie, I... I love you."

_'IDIOT!_ _NO!' _

Yuffie's tear-filled eyes widened. "Vinnie..?."

"Yuffie, I finally realized that without you, I could not live with myself. You are the light that guides me. I really do...love you."

Yuffie started to cry even harder. "Vincent!" She jumped in Vincent's arms, hugging him tightly around his neck. "Vinnie, I love you too. I love you so much. For so long I..." She whispered in his ear, as tears made their way down her cheeks.

Vincent held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. As he closed his eyes, he felt extremely light. A feeling he hadn't felt in decades. He felt the wall inside him crumble totally, and the demons were defeated by the strong emotions. His heart now had an empty space. The one who would fill that space, was Yuffie, the young ninja whom he loved.

They held each other tightly. Yuffie continued to cry the tears of happiness. "Vincent..." She managed to say. "I'm so glad you decided to stay for Christmas..." She pulled away so she could look at his eyes. "I was so depressed without you with me, Vinnie. Please, don't disappear again."

Vincent ran his hand through her smooth hair. "I promise to stay by your side, Yuffie."

Yuffie's face brightened. She had a gentle smile on her face. The smile Vincent never would get bored of. This smile, made his world shine. Vincent began smiling too. This was the first time he was actually... happy.

Yuffie was amazed seeing this wonder happen. "You smiled..."

"There is a good reason for it now." Vincent said gently, wiping the tears on Yuffie's cheek.

"Your smile. Somehow it makes me really happy..." She giggled slightly as a single tear rolled down her face. "Hey, you said you have a present for me. I know you are the best birthday present ever, but I crave for something extra at the moment." She said jokingly as the smile on her face widened even more.

Yuffie moved closer to him. Vincent's heart was beating sky-rocket, as he smelled her sweet scent. Her eyes, her lips, it was for vain to even think about resisting.

"Something like...this." Yuffie said with a gentle voice, and pressed her lips against his. They shared a long kiss. Vincent was powerless in front of her. His emotions were slowly returning to him, telling him to kiss her back. And he did.

As they parted, they looked at each other, smiling.

"Yuffie, you do realize that I'm sick? I wouldn't want you to get infected..."

He held her tightly. "Vinnie, I couldn't care less at the moment." Yuffie moved even closer, and whispered into his ear. "Can I stay beside you for tonight? I kinda think that I can't loosen my grip." She giggled.

Vincent smiled. "I didn't plan to let you go either way..."

They both laughed, and tightened their grip on each other.

------------------------

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" A brunette haired woman yelled.

It was Christmas eve, the sun was already down and the snow had covered the town completely last night. Children were outside playing in the white powder and their giggling could be heard all the way inside Elmyra's house. The whole town of Kalm indeed seemed to have calmed down on the Christmas Eve.

Tifa stood beside the Christmas tree she had decorated in the evening. The crew of Avalanche, except for Yuffie and Vincent, sat on the two sofas, that were moved in front of the fireplace. They lazily reacted at Tifa's attempt to improve the Christmas-spirit amongst them.

"Yay..." Nanaki mumbled, as he stretched his limbs and curled up in front of the fireplace.

Barret seemed frustrated as he switched the TV channels frequently. "Dam' commercials all the time..."

Cid was, in fact, lying on the couch next to Shera. "Barret, shut yer mouth. I can't sleep."

Reeve chuckled due to the reactions of the group. "What a bunch we are..."

Cloud glanced at him and smiled. "Yeah, seriously. Note, this was the bunch that saved the Planet..." They all laughed at his remark.

"You guys..." Tifa hung her head in defeat. Cloud tapped the empty space beside him.

"Teef, you can always try spending the Christmas our way." He winked at her as he stretched his hands, sinking even deeper in the sofa. Tifa frowned at him.

Realizing something, Nanaki lifted his head. "By the way, where is Yuffie and Vincent?"

Barret shrugged. "The last time I saw 'em was in the mornin'. They acted strange." Cid started grinning. "I KNEW there was something goin' on!"

Cloud crossed his arms. "Teef, were you serious when you told me...You know, about Yuffie and all that..." Tifa smiled and nodded. "Anyway, should we wait for them, or do we get the presents now?" Just after she finished her sentence, footsteps could be heard from the stairway. "It's them, isn't it?" Cid quickly turned his head to look over the sofa towards the stairs.

"Keep your mouth shut, old timer, or yer soon gonna find it painful to sit down."

Yuffie walked down the stairs beside Vincent, who -to everyone's surprise- didn't have a cape on. The two made their way in the living room, accompanied by the stares from the Avalanche crew. Tifa and Cloud glanced at each other and smiled, as they noticed...Yes, they were holding hands and glancing at each other.

Cid's and Barret's jaws quite frankly, dropped to the ground. "Ehh..." Dumbfounded would have been the currect word to describe their expressions at the moment.

Reeve and Shera smiled at the two from the sofa, and Nanaki lifted himself up and murmured to himself.

"Who would have thought..."

Suddenly Vincent and Yuffie both coughed and sneezed. Tifa tried to hide her giggling as she looked at them.

"Well... It's Christmas Eve. Shall we get the presents, perhaps?" The emotionless look on Vincent's face was gone. Instead, it had been replaced by a slight smile.

"Yeah, let's get on it!" The smile on Yuffie's face was brighter than ever before, even though her face looked slightly pale. "Hey, where's Elmyra and Marlene? We have presents for them too. -sneeze-" Yuffie looked at Tifa, who smiled as she winked at her.

"They are in the kitchen. I'll get them here, Yuffs." Tifa walked past Yuffie smiling, and slightly tapped her shoulder. "I wonder where you got that flu from..." She whispered to the blushing Yuffie.

"Damn Spike, I thought you weren't serious, but look at 'em now." Cid whispered to Cloud, who gave him a shrug. "This love-thing bears no logic, I guess." He smiled as he glanced at the couple.

Tifa came back to the living room, Elmyra and Marlene behind her. "Aunt Yuffs!" The little girl ran to Yuffie. "Can we open up the presents, can we?" Marlene pulled Yuffie's hand.

Yuffie kneeled down and patted Marlene's head. "Wait just a minute, okay? I'm gonna give you the best gift ever in a sec." She smiled at her.

"Yay!" Marlene jumped up and down, as Yuffie stood up.

"Now, can I give the first present? Please?" Yuffie faced Tifa, who was giggling, as if knowing the forthcoming. She nodded at Yuffie.

Yuffie grinned as she faced Vincent. "Vincent." She whispered to him.

Vincent smiled at her, a smile that was seen by everyone. He would not hide his feelings anymore, as he had done for so long. "Yuffie."

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, as the two closed the distance between them, and gently placed their lips together.

Vincent and Yuffie held each other tightly, not caring about the others.

The room was silent as every eye on the room was focused on the couple, until Tifa wawed at Cloud to stand up. He nodded, rose from the couch and walked to Tifa. He placed his hands on Tifa's shoulders and kissed her.

Tifa had her eyes wide open. "Cloud! I didn't...You were supposed to put more wood in the fireplace!"

Everyone began laughing out loud, seeing Cloud's confused look. "Oh..." He scrached his head as Tifa giggled at him. "Don't worry, this is perfectly fine too." She pulled Cloud close and kissed him again.

Cid looked at the two pairs at it, and realized who was sitting next to him. He saw Shera looking at him with a smile on her face. "You, woman, no! Don't even think about it!"

Cid shook his head, as Shera put her hand on his shoulder. "Cid..."

"Oh crap."

THE END

Author's notes:

Yes yes, I know it's kind of...sweetish, meh. But I want to thank everyone who have read this through, I appreciate it. Now, the only thing left to do is to submit a REVIEW! Just do it. Feel free to tell me how it sucks bottom and all that, as long as you just post something. Thanks!


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